Waka Power Labs

Helping Humanity Think Better Together

An applied AI research and technology lab designing the methods, runtime, and applications that help people, institutions, and communities think, decide, and adapt together.

Our focus

AI is changing intelligence. We are focused on something else.

Every day, AI becomes better at generating content, answering questions, and automating tasks.

Yet our greatest challenges, climate change, education, governance, healthcare, and economic transformation, are not problems of individual intelligence. They are problems of collective intelligence.

The question is no longer: can AI think?
The question is: can AI help people think better together?

That is the question driving everything we build at Waka Power Labs.

Our thesis

Coherence is infrastructure.

Just as roads enable movement and the internet enables communication, coherence enables collective action.

Communities, schools, organizations, and governments succeed not simply because individuals are intelligent, but because they coordinate effectively under complexity.

We believe AI should strengthen that capacity, not replace it.

What we build

Three layers, one lab

Layer 01

Research

Developing the scientific foundations of collective intelligence and institutional coherence.

  • Coherence Theory
  • Observable Indicators
  • AI Facilitation
  • Ethics & Governance
  • Ubuntu-informed AI Design
Layer 02

Runtime

The infrastructure that powers collaborative learning and decision-making.

  • Mission Engine
  • Event Engine
  • AI Facilitation Engine
  • Reflection Engine
  • Indicator Framework
  • Developer APIs
Layer 03

Applications

Real-world implementations built on the runtime.

  • CoherencePlay, AI-powered collaborative learning
  • Climate Adaptation Simulations
  • Coherence Leadership, executive and institutional development
  • Governance & Civic Participation
  • Community Resilience Missions
Research questions

We are not simply building products.

We are investigating fundamental questions.

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How do groups become more coherent?

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How can AI facilitate better collaboration?

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What observable behaviors strengthen collective intelligence?

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How should Ubuntu influence AI system design?

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How do institutions learn and adapt under uncertainty?

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What does responsible AI look like when decisions are made collectively?

Infrastructure

The Coherence Runtime

Behind every mission is the same infrastructure.

Theory
Observable Indicators
Coherence Runtime
Mission Applications

The runtime enables anyone to design collaborative experiences that can be adapted across education, leadership, governance, healthcare, and climate resilience.

Why Ubuntu matters

“I am because we are.”

Ubuntu is more than a philosophy. It is a design principle.

Rather than optimizing individual achievement alone, we design systems that strengthen relationships, shared responsibility, and collective learning.

This principle informs every layer of our work, from research to runtime to real-world applications.

Status

Current initiatives

Research

  • Coherence Thesis Published
  • Coherence Indicators v0.1 In progress
  • AI Facilitation Framework Next

Platform

  • Coherence Runtime Building
  • Mission Builder Next
  • Developer Documentation Next

Applications

Coherence, applied

One research program. Many applications.

Coherence is our central research program. Every product below is evidence that the research holds, not a separate business built alongside it.

CoherencePlayLive

Education. Immersive missions for collaborative learning.

Coherence LeadershipLive

Executive practice. Negotiation and shared decision-making for institutional teams.

Coherence HealthUpcoming

Healthcare. Coordinated decision-making across care teams and systems.

Coherence GovernanceUpcoming

Public sector. Civic participation and institutional coordination.

Join the lab

Build this with us

We're building this with educators, researchers, developers, governments, philanthropies, and communities. Whether you're exploring AI, designing learning experiences, strengthening institutions, or studying collective intelligence, we'd love to collaborate.

We're currently seeking
  • Research collaborators
  • Pilot schools
  • University partners
  • Ministries of Education
  • Climate and resilience organizations
  • AI researchers
  • Mission designers
Latest insights

From the lab notebook

Why AI Should Facilitate Rather Than Replace Human Decision-Making

Ubuntu as a Design Principle for Collective Intelligence

From Individual Intelligence to Institutional Coherence

The Future of Collaborative Learning

Designing AI for Collective Adaptation

About

A lab, not a finished product

Waka Power Labs is the applied AI research and technology arm of Waka Africa, based in Nairobi. We are systematically discovering, testing, and building the infrastructure for collective intelligence, alongside the researchers, educators, and communities testing it with us.